Monday Is for Mothers: Anna Delilah Webb Slater (1891 - 1973)

This 1957 snapshot of my maternal grandmother Annie Slater with her first granddaughter (and my first cousin) Sue* appears to have been taken in her backyard in Niwot, Colorado.

Sue sent a message correcting the location: "At my parents' home in Glen Burnie, Maryland."

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

*Actually I was her first grandchild (and was 10 years old at this time) but that's a secret that, as far as we know, my mother never shared.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Emma Maria Worden (1861 - 1939)

While working on last Friday's post I realized that we have a portrait of young Emma that hasn't been shared here. It was probably taken in Jones County, Iowa, sometime before her marriage to Madison Monroe Kuder in 1884.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

This picture from my great grandmother Elnora Worden Webb's photo album that we scanned during the epic session with Cousin Sue and her husband Bob at her mother's house in 2011.




© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Cousin Donald Nielsen Worked at The Royal Gorge Bridge & Park

This guy is my 1st cousin 2x removed, which is a fairly close relative. Donald's mother was Nora (Webb) Nielsen, sister to my great grandmother Anna Delilah (Webb) Slater.

Donald's obituary (published in The Canon City Daily Record on Nov. 25, 2011 and at Legacy.com)

Donald Dean Nielsen, 84, passed on November 24, 2011, in the comfort of his home with his family by his side 

Don's life was filled with many successes. His experiences, knowledge & wisdom came from a life well lived. Don's life partner & wife of 51 years Rosella T. Nielsen preceded him in death in 2002. They owned & operated the Sky Valley Motel for 26 years, where they raised & nurtured their family. In his retirement years, Don worked full time as the Senior Incline Operator at the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canon City, CO. Don excelled in his professional trade as a Heavy & Highway Superintendent building & engineering many of Colorado's highways & bridges. His skills and talents led him to be a part of building the infamous NORAD in Colo. Springs, CO. 

He proudly served his country as a Sergeant in the U.S. Army, 1st Infantry Division, "The Big Red One", stationed in Germany during the Korean War. Prior to his military service, Don was a Singer Sewing Machine Rep & Repair man in the South Dakota/Nebraska area. 

Don was born on May 22, 1927, in Verdigre, Nebraska. He believed in honest hard work, loved a good cigar and a good running truck. He loved prospecting and would trek for miles, deep into the Colorado mountains. 

Don was a dedicated father. Family life was a priority for him. 

We, his children, honor his life and strive to live our lives ever grateful & mindful of his...[list of family members] 

A sincere thank you to all our dear family, friends & Fremont Regional Hospice who assisted in this last year of our father's life. We are eternally grateful. 

Daddy, you are forever cherished. Thanks for being our Dad! Rest in peace & comfort, our beloved father. 

Funeral will be held in his home church, Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 801 Sheridan Ave, Canon City, CO. Visitation 10:00 till 11:00 a.m., prior to Funeral Service at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Pastor Robert Kippley officiating. Interment will follow at Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City. Reception will follow interment at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church.

Sounds like a great guy!

Some videos (I had them directly on this page, but then I got a weird error message and here are the links):
Royal Gorge Bridge

Colorado Experience (PBS): NORAD

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Adella "Della" E. Webb Earnshaw - 1864 - 1958

While my branch of the Webbs moved from Pennsylvania to Iowa and then Texas* there were some who chose to go no farther west than Ohio. Della Webb Earnshaw, one of my maternal second cousins, three times removed, may have made Ohio her home but that doesn't mean she didn't travel out of the state (and country) during her long life. This photo is from her 1923 passport.

[Found on an Ancestry.com public tree belonging to lisaraines2003_1]

Della married Joseph "Joe" Henry Earnshaw in 1887.

[12 Oct 1887, Page 4 - The Summit County Beacon at Newspapers.com]

In 1901 Joe's passport application included his wife Della.

[Ancestry.com. U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.

Original data: Selected Passports. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

We know they landed in Liverpool June of 1901 (since the application is dated May 31st). They had traveled in style as "Saloon" or first class passengers. I haven't found a record of their return home.

[Ancestry.com. UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England.]

Della and Joe's only child, Elizabeth Webb Earnshaw, was born in 1902 and the family traveled abroad several times.

Here's their return from England in 1906 aboard the S.S. Carmania:

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897

Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

For their 1916 trip, the Earnshaws returned home just over a month after the beginning of World War I via Quebec, Canada, on the S.S. Laurentic** as we can see from this border crossing document:

[Ancestry.com. U.S., Border Crossings from Canada to U.S., 1895-1960 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85. Washington, D.C.:

National Archives and Records Administration. ]

[GG Archives]

And here's the record of their return from London in 1923 on the S.S. Minnewaska.

[Ancestry.com. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1820-1897.Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.

Original data: Various maritime reference sources.]

I've run of out time this evening to continue with the rest of the trips Della took but I promise I'll cover them in a later post.

Here's how Della and I are related:

[Ancestry.com]

*My great great grandfather Abner Webb who died there in about 1861.
**On January 25, 1917, the Laurentic, taken over by the British Navy to serve as a merchant cruiser, was sunk when it hit two German mines off the North Irish coast.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Ashtabula Lyle (1857 - 1937) & Her Husband Seth P. Thomas (1853 - 1940)

I don't know why this second cousin, three times removed*, was named Ashtabula, the name of a city and county located on Lake Erie, far to the north of her birthplace in downstate in Meigs County, Ohio. Perhaps her parents just liked how this Native-American-derived word sounded.**

Ashtabula and Seth were married in Gallia County, Ohio, in 1885 and seem to have lived in that county for their entire lives. They had four children.

[Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.]

Both of these portraits were found on the Ancestry.com family tree of VickieHill56 who doesn't appear to be a DNA match of mine.


*This is how we're related through my Webb lineage:

[Ancestry.com]

**Here's how Wikipedia translates it: The name Ashtabula is derived from ashtepihəle, which means 'always enough fish to be shared around' in the Lenape language

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Anna (Webb) Slater - Dry Creek, Niwot, Colorado

Obviously on this particular day Dry Creek wasn't living up to its name.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

In 2012 Dry Creek Trail was opened to hikers, bikers and equestrians. You can learn more about the area here.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Fantastic Find: Texas and the Civil War

Half of my eight great great grandfathers fought in the Civil War. One, Willet O. "Dick" Worden, was a private in the Iowa 24th Infantry, and of the three who were Confederate soldiers*, two were in Texas and I've never been able to locate them in online military records.

So when this email from the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) arrived in my inbox this morning I jumped at the chance to learn more about what happened in Texas during the war.

Of course I don't expect to find any mention of those ancestors who reputedly enlisted in Texas regiments, but since we do know where they were living at the start of the war this information may help me focus on likely military units they would have served in.




*They were John Warren Avery (of Mississippi); the Texans were J.T.S. Warren and Abner Webb.



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: "Alta - lap full of chicks (gray house)"

This snapshot of my birth mother Alta Mae Slater (1917-1986) seems to have been taken about 100 years ago in Niwot, Colorado.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

I believe the note was written by her mother, my maternal grandmother, Anna Delilah Webb Slater.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Mercy Ann Darling Webb Walsh's Obituary - 1915

We have my great great grandmother's 1915 obituary thanks to research done by Findagrave's member Gayle Neuhaus, a resident of Winnetoon, Nebraska. Gayle added a transcription of it to Mercy's memorial, adding her source so I was able to locate a scan of the original* from The Creighton Liberal:

[Source: Digital Archives of the Creighton Public Library]

                  Obituary**
   Mrs. Mercy Ann Walsh was born on
the eleventh day of May 1835 at
Harvard, Courtland County, N y
and died Oct. 29, 1915 at Creighton
Nebr being 80 year 5 months and 18
days old
   In 1858 she was married to Abner
Webb of Jones county, Ia. Soon after
their marriage they moved 
to Collen County Texas
where was born to them a son
J.D. Webb who resides in Winnetoon.
When the country was in the throes of
war in the sixties her husband re-
sponded to the call of the South and
laid down his life upon the altar of 
his country.
   In 1864 Miss Webb married Joshua
B Walsh in McKenny Collen county
Texas from which place they moved
to Iowa in 1866. To this union four
children were born all of whom are
still living. Two sons F B. and J
S Walsh reside at Boulder, Colo.
Mrs Kitty May Pierce of Idaho and
Mrs Dr. Hazen of Creighton, Nebr.
During her entire life she has been
very healthy; and knowing she had
lived beyond her allotted time here
on earth she came to Creighton to
spend her last days with her daugh-
ter and also that she might at her
death be buried in the Millerboro
churchyard by the side of her hus
band  Mr Walsh served thorought
the Mexican was for which a pension
was received by his wife. He also 
fought under Gen. Jackson against
the Indians of Florida.
   For forty years Mrs. Walsh was a
member of the Church of God and
was very faithful in and to her reli-
gious beliefs. The funeral services
were held Sunday Oct. 31st at the 
home of Mrs. Hazen, Rev. Joseph
Stanford pastor Methodist Church
officiating  Internment was at Miller-
boro  Six of her grand sons, Claude,
Elmer, and Waymond Hazen;
Herbert Fred and John Webb, acted 
as pall bearers  Thus laid at rest 
a soul that feared God
                --------------
       CARD OF THANKS
   We sincerely desire to thank all our
friends and neighbors for their help
and expressions of sympathy. In the
sorror that has come to us in the
loss of our mother and grandmother.
   Dr. and Mrs. Hazen and family.
   Jess and Nora Webb and family.

This is very exciting because, although bits and pieces of Mercy's life with her first husband have come down to us, this is the closest we've gotten to the story she would have told about herself and her son (and my great grandfather) Jess Webb was one of the sources of the information printed here. Here's a portrait of Mercy that belonged to him:

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy. The handwriting is probably that of my grandmother Anna Delilah Webb Slater.]

Especially interesting is the statement that Mercy and Abner Webb moved to Texas shortly after their 1858 marriage.*** Abner's maternal grandfather Jesse Sill died in November of the previous year, leaving him a bequest of $300; could it have been the expectation of this money that encouraged the couple to relocate? If so, I'm afraid they were to be disappointed because at the time of Jesse Sill's death the country was experiencing a severe economic "panic" and his diminished estate wasn't settled for a very long time.

We've never been able to locate Mercy in the 1860 U.S. Census although we know that Abner was employed as a carpenter by attorney Fred L. Gates**** in Collin County on June 7, 1860 (less than six weeks before his son was born). Several sources has claimed that son Jesse David Webb was born in Galveston but not this obituary.

Although there's no record of Abner's military service (on either side*****) here it's stated clearly that his sympathies were with the Confederacy.

Thanks again Gayle, for finding this and posting it where I could find it.


*Looking at the obituary as printed, it's clear that whoever set the type wasn't particularly skilled and/or didn't proofread it carefully.
**Several corrections are in order: Mercy Darling was born in Harford in Cortland County, NY; McKinney is in Collin County, Texas.
***There's a transcription of a Jones County Marriage Book which lists the date of their marriage as November 6, 1856. Because it's not the original, that date could be an error.
****Gates later rose to the rank of a Captain in the 16th Regiment, Texas Cavalry (Fitzhugh's). Two other regiments included men from McKinney: 6th/15th (Consolidated) Regiment, Texas Volunteers; and 6th Regiment, Texas Cavalry (Wharton, Stone's).
*****I've even seen some claims that Abner served with Sherman on his march through Georgia.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Some Notes on Ephraim Engle's estate records

Ephraim W. Engle, who died in 1863, circled in red, was my 4th great-granduncle by marriage.  His sister-in-law, my 3rd great grandmother Mercy Ann Darling, was married first to Abner Webb (my ancestor) and then Joshua Walsh (in 1864).  It has been assumed that Abner Webb had died by the time she married Walsh, but the April 1865 probate journal entry below mentions Abner Webb.  Jesse Sill Webb was a brother of Abner Webb, and had married Mercy's sister Nancy Adelia. At this point I'm not sure how Eli Gilbert fits in, except that he was a local attorney at law.  Diagram made with LucidChart.

I came across an interesting mention of Abner Webb when while transcribing probate journal entries on the annual settlement in Ephraim W. Engle's estate in Allen County, Kansas.  Was Abner Webb still alive?  It has been assumed that he died sometime during the Civil War, and almost certainly before September 1864 when his wife married her second husband, but now I'm not sure:

Allen County, Kansas, Probate Journals, Vol A, 1858-1871: page 108, "Eli Gilbert Administrator for Ephraim W. Engle deceased", 5 April 1865; FHL microfilm 1412213; digital image, Ancestry.com database "Kansas, Wills and Probate Records, 1803-1987" (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=9065 : 6 March 2018).

page 108 [NOTE: I've bolded the names]
Probate Court
County of Allen

Regular Term 3rd day
April 5th 1865 at o'clock A.M.

Eli Gilbert Administrator for Ephraim W. Engle de-
ceased appeared for annual settlement in said Estate,
The following accounts were presented, widened as requi-
red by law, and allowed by the court, J.S. Webb account
for the sum of Eighty two 20/100 Dollars, J. S. Webb, note against
E.W. Engle dec'd, for the sum of Twenty three Dollars, Tax Receipts
in the year 1861, for the sum of Six Dollars, Redemption
certificate for the sum of Four 85/100 Dollars, John Secrist pre-
sented a Transcript from the District Court of Jones County
Iowa, in the cause entitled John Secrist against Eli Gil
bert administrator for E.W. Engle deceased, Emily Weed, Abner Webb
and J.S. Webb, for the sum of Eighty Seven 40/ Dollars, J.S. Webb
sworn and examined, Whereupon the Court ordered that said
Transcript be filed with the papers of said Estate, for further
consideration.


I'm going to have to mull over what this entry means, in particular to Abner Webb.  There is mention of Jones County, Iowa, which is where I knew the Webbs/Darling/Engle people to be before some of them moved on to Allen County, Kansas Territory (by 1860).  I'll look into what is available on the District Court in Jones County, Iowa.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Mary Jane Peebles (1829 - 1915)

Who are these people? And which one is Mary Jane?

The oldest person in this family portrait is Mary Jane Peebles Calhoun, one of my maternal first cousins, four times removed. She and I are both descendants of Isaac Webb and his wife Jane Kennedy. Her mother Jane Webb married Joel C. Peebles and Mary Jane was their second child. She and her husband Thomas Calhoun had eight children together, three of whom (Mary, Edith and John Alexander) are in this picture along with grandson William Henry Calhoun, his wife Dora and their baby John. 

Photo taken abt 1908 from left to right standing Edith Calhoun Haberman, Dora May Helsel Calhoun, William Henry Calhoun, Mary Calhoun Luehm. Seated left to right John Alexander Calhoun, Mary Jane Peebles Calhoun with John Calhoun on her lap and Sarah Jane Edmundson Calhoun. vivkifretz originally shared this to Ancestry.com on 02 Feb 2017

A life-long resident of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Mary Jane survived her husband by 22 years, her accidental death in 86th year was the result of burns caused by a gas stove that set her skirts on fire.

[Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1966 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Pennsylvania (State). Death certificates, 1906–1963. Series 11.90 (1,905 cartons). Records of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Record Group 11. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.]

Like many of my Allegheny County relatives, Mary Jane is buried in the McKeesport and Versailles Cemetery.

A reminder of how we're connected:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

From the Probate Files: Richard Woodward - Chester County, Pennsylvania - 1706

Ancestry's online databases weren't very helpful in regard to the will of my maternal ninth great grandfather Richard Woodward. All I could find was this:

[Ancestry.com]

And I found nothing at all on FamilySearch.

But I persisted because, as you will note, one of his children was "Martha, wife of --- Baker" and therefore my 8th great grandmother. Fortunately an earlier Woodward published a book in 1879* about the family (available through the Internet Archive) which includes a transcription of Richard's will.

[Genealogy of the Woodward family of Chester county, Pennsylvania, with an appendix giving a brief account of the Woodwards of some other portions of the United States. by Lewis Woodward, b. 1848. From the collection of the Boston Public Library. Internet Archive.com]

(As you can see Martha's bequest was "five pounds in monys or a Cow equivalent to the sum" while her sisters Jane, Mary and Sarah each were to receive twenty pounds, perhaps because Martha was already married which they were not.)**

It appears that the house in Thornbury Township that Richard lived in before he removed to Middletown is still standing and it was documented in the 1930s by the Historic American Buildings Survey which stated that "Significance: This house, although much altered, is of interest because the original section was possibly built in the last decade of the 17th century."

[SOUTH FRONT AND EAST SIDE - Richard Woodward House, Concord Road (Thornbury Township), Westtown, Chester County, PA

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. ]

[ WEST AND NORTH SIDES - Richard Woodward House, Concord Road (Thornbury Township), Westtown, Chester County, PA.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

[FIRST FLOOR, EAST WALL FIREPLACE - Richard Woodward House, Concord Road (Thornbury Township), Westtown, Chester County, PA.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

[SECOND FLOOR, HALL - Richard Woodward House, Concord Road (Thornbury Township), Westtown, Chester County, PA.

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C.]

Here's how I'm descended from Richard Woodward:

[Ancestry.com]

*Here's the title page:

**Of his sons, only Joseph (not the eldest) inherited property. The others had to settle for "four shillings or a pair of gloves".



© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Anne Baker (1703 - 1779)

Anne Baker, one of my maternal seventh great grandmothers, was the grandmother of William Sill whose life and probate we've been examining in the last week. She outlived her husband James and wrote her own last will in 1779.*

[Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Church and Town Records, 1669-2013 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Historic Pennsylvania Church and Town Records. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Methodist Church Records. Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Eastern Pennsylvania United Methodist Church Commission on Archives and History.]

 As far as I can tell, Ann and James had eight children, five boys and three girls. I'm descended from their oldest son, another James Sill.

[Ancestry.com]

All the records we have for the Sills place them in Pennsylvania, first in Chester County** and later in Allegheny. My great great grandfather Abner Webb was the first of that lineage to leave, settling first in Iowa in the 1850s and later dying in Texas, probably in 1861..



*Which I'll post about at a future date.
**Edgmont Township is now in Delaware County, which was created out of Chester in 1789.

© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Family Friday: Mary Jane (Peebles) Calhoun and Family

Mary Jane Peebles, the daughter of Joel C. Peebles and my 4th great aunt Jane Webb, was born in Lincoln Township in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, in 1829. She married Thomas Calhoun (1828-1893) in 1851 and was the mother of eight children including John Alexander Calhoun (1858-1927) who is the man seated on the left in the family portrait below. Mary Jane is seated in the center, holding John Calhoun, one of her great grandchildren.*

[Photo taken about 1908 from left to right standing Edith Calhoun Haberman, Dora May Helsel Calhoun, William Henry Calhoun, Mary Calhoun Luehm. Seated left to right John Alexander Calhoun, Mary Jane Peebles Calhoun with John Calhoun on her lap and Sarah Jane Edmundson Calhoun. Shared on her public Ancestry.com family tree by vivkifretz.]

As far as I can tell, Mary Jane never moved out of Allegheny County and died in McKeesport in 1915.

As you can see from this chart, she is my first cousin, four times removed. While I sometimes find a family resemblance in cousins' photos I don't see it in this family portrait.

[Ancestry.com]

*Baby John's parents are standing behind him--William Henry Calhoun and his wife Dora May Helsel Calhoun.


© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved. 

From the Probate Files: Hugh Kennedy - Allegheny County, Pennsylvania - 1814

Last week we looked at the will of William Kenedy who is believed to be the father of my ancestor Hugh Kennedy and I promised to examine Hugh's will. Somehow the day got away from me and I just realized that it's my turn to post. Fortunately Hugh Kennedy's 1814 will is relatively short and the clerk who copied it into the records had legible handwriting.

[Will Books, 1789-1917; Author: Allegheny County (Pennsylvania). Register of Wills; Probate Place: Allegheny, Pennsylvania. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, Wills and Probate Records, 1683-1993 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.

Original data: Pennsylvania County, District and Probate Courts.]

In the Name of God Amen. I Hugh Kennedy of the County of
Allegheny and the Township of Mifflin being weak in body but of sound &
perfect mind and memory Blessed be Almighty God for the same do make
and publish this my last will and Testament in manner and form foll-
owing that (is to say) first I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife Eli-
zabeth Kennedy a good deacent mentenence together with all the bedd-
ing and household furniture endurring her life or widowhood. I do also
-------
give and bequeath unto my Eldest Son William one dollar. Also I give and
bequeath unto my Daughter Rebecca one dollar. I also give and bequeath un
to my Daughter Mary one dollar. I also give and bequeath unto my son Martin
one Dollar. I also give and bequeath unto my daughter Jennet one dollar.
I also give and bequeath unto my son Henry one dollar. I also give and
bequeath unto my daughter Catherine one dollar. I also give and bequeath
unto my son James one Dollar. I also give and bequeath unto my daughter
Isabella one Dollar. I also and bequeath unto my two sons Hugh & D-
avid their heirs and assigns all that my messuage or Tenement situated
lying and being in the Township and County aforesaid. Together with all my
other free hold Estate whatsoever to hold to them the said Hugh and David
their heirs and assigns forever. And lastly I give and bequeath unto my
beloved wife all the rest and residue and remainder of my personal prop-
erty estate goods and chattels of what kind and nature soever enduring 
her widow hood, and at her death to be divided betwixt my two sons Hugh
& David each the one half together with each paying the half of my Lawfull
debts, and I do hereby appoint my sons David and my trusty friend William
Canel my whole sole Executors of this my Last will and Testament hereby re-
voking all former wills by me made. In Witness whereof I have heretofo-
re set my hand and seal this second day of February in the year of our Lo-
rd one thousand eight hundred & fourteen. Signed Sealed published a-
nd declared by the above named Hugh Kennedy to be his last will and
Testament in the presence of us who have hereunto subscribed our names
as Witnesses in the presence of the Testator.                    his
Geo. McMillen. Adam Boyd. Jeremiah Ferree.       Hugh X Kennedy {Seal}
                                                                                          mark.

Allegheny County Ss. On the 9th day of March A.D. 1814. Personally came Ge-
orge McMillen, Adam Boyd and Jeremiah Ferree, the Subscribing witnesses
to the within will before Saml Jones Register for the probate of wills & for said
County. and being duly Sworn they did depose and say that they were pres-
ent and did see Hugh Kennedy make his mark to this instrument of wri-
ting and published pronounced & declared the same to be his last will an-
d Testament, and that he was of sound mind and memory at the ti-
me of so doing to the best of their Knowledge. Given under my hand the
day & year aforesaid
                                    Recorded 9th March 1814           Saml Jones Register.


Hugh names eleven children in his will, leaving only token bequests to all but two of his sons, Hugh and David. He had two wives, Catherine Hughes and Elizabeth Scullion but it's not clear to me which one was the mother of which children including my direct ancestor Jennet (Jane) who married Isaac Webb.







© 2018 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Hugh Kennedy (1725 - 1814): Another Quaker Ancestor?

When did this Irish-born fifth great grandfather* arrive in Pennsylvania? The usual answer of 1741 from Grange in Ireland seems to be based on this quote from Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750 : with their early history in Ireland:

[Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750 : with their early history in Ireland (1902) by Myers, Albert Cook, 1874-1960.

Online source: the Internet Archive.]

However, according to another quote from the same source the Hugh Kenedy in this record is an much older man with grown children and therefore can't be my ancestor who was only about 16 at the time:

[Immigration of the Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania, 1682-1750 : with their early history in Ireland (1902) by Myers, Albert Cook, 1874-1960.

Online source: the Internet Archive.]

Since traditionally Hugh's father is believed to be William Kennedy who mentioned a son with that name in his 1787 will, my ancestor can't be connected to this Quaker family.

Was he a Quaker? I don't know but since DAR records show him enlisting in the local militia in 1746 (and later serving in the Revolution) he doesn't appear to have subscribed to the pacifist tenets of that denomination.

Here's how I'm related to him.

[Ancestry.com]

*His surname is spelled variously as Kenedy, Kennedy and Canady.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

William Coale Junior and Elizabeth Sparrow Get Married in 1689

Last week I posted the 1730 marriage record for a pair of maternal 6X great grandparents, Margaret Coale and Richard Richardson. Now I'm going back another generation to Margaret's parents William Cole Junior and Elizabeth Sparrow.

[U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1994. Ancestry.com. Original Data: Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Marriage 1682-1824; Collection: Baltimore Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: RG2/B/S361 3.3]

Wheras William Cole Jun of Ann arundell
County in the province of Maryland Planter
And Eliz'a Sparrow of the Clifts in Calvert County
in the Said Province haveing Declared their Intent-
=ions of marriage two Sundry times at Sev'll meetings
of the people of God called Quakers at West River
in the County of ann arund'll afs"d w'ch was approved
on by the Said Meetings
Now these are to Certifie all people whom it may
Concern that for the full accomplishing of ye Intention
afs"d this Thirtieth day of ye fifth Month commonly
called July in the Year one thousand Six hundred Eighty
and Nine in an assembly of the people of God afs'd at
their Meeting place at the house of Richard Johns at
Clifts afs"d The Sd Wm Coale did stand up & takeing
the Sd Eliz'a Sparrow by the hand did Declare viz t
Frds in the presence of God & before this Congregation I take
Eliz'a Sparrow to be my wife and do promise to be a
Loving & faithfull husband unto her during both our Lives
And the Sd Eliz'a Sparrow did Declare viz t Frds
In the presence of God and before this Congregation I do
take Wm Coale to be my husband and do promise to be
unto him a Loving and faithfull Wife during both our
Lives  - - - And We who were present at ye Said
Meeting have hereunto Sett our hands as Wittnesses
the day and Year abovesaid
Rich'd Johns            Christ'n Harris            William Coale
Solom Sparrow        John Pardo                  Elizabeth Sparrow
Wm Coale                Rich'd Gibes                & now Coale
Rich'd Galloway       John Talbott                _______________
Edw'd Talbott           Frn's Hutchins
Wm Richardson       Marg't Richardson       Eliz'a Johns
Phil Coale                Eliz'a Hutchins             Eliz'a Coale
Tho's Sparrow         Wm Holyday
Abra Johns               Wm Chew
Sam'll Coale             Hanah Everest
Sam'll Constable      John Cutting
George Royston       Tho's Everest
John Austin              Wm Edmondson                          
Hoa's Bilingsly         Mary Webb
Rob't Johnson           Marg't Kidd 
Rob't Harper            Eliz'a Mears
                                 Hesther Pardo
                                 Tho's S___________
                                              Jasho                   

Here;s a reminder of how I'm related to this couple:

[Ancestry.com]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Monday Is for Mothers: Anna Delilah Webb (1891 - 1973)

We know from her obituaries that my maternal grandmother was a charter member of the Niwot Garden Club which was founded in 1938.

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

This photograph seems to date from 1946 when the club decided to create a community garden across from the train depot. (Note that Anna is the shortest woman in this group.)

[Page 83, Around Niwot by Anne Quinby Dyni, Arcadia Publishing, 2015.]

From the Slater family collection we have this 1963 group photo of Garden Club members out in a chrysanthemum field. (Anna appears to have some competition for the shortest person here.)

[Courtesy of Olive Slater-Kennedy]

© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.